How serious are Arkansas marijuana cultivators about legalizing recreational use of their product?
Well, five of them have put up $350,000 each to fund a ballot question committee.
Responsible Growth Arkansas filed paperwork with the Arkansas Ethics Commission on Oct. 15 for the purpose of “advocat[ing] for the passage of an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to allow the regulated sale of adult use cannabis in the state.”
The group’s chairman is former state Rep. Eddie Armstrong III of Little Rock; T.J. Boyle, an accountant with Frost PLLC in Little Rock, is its treasurer.
By the end of November, Responsible Growth Arkansas had $1.75 million in the bank (Central Bank, specifically). According to the first financial report filed on Dec. 15, the money came in equal parts from licensed cannabis cultivators or related entities:
- Bold Team LLC of Cotton Plant (Woodruff County);
- Good Day Farms Arkansas LLC of Rogers, which is affiliated with the Good Day Farm cultivator of Pine Bluff;
- Osage Creek Cultivation LLC of Berryville;
- DMCC LLC of Jonesboro, an affiliate of Delta Medical Cannabis Co. of Newport; and
- NSMC-OPCO LLC of White Hall, which does business as Natural State Medicinals Cultivation.
As of Nov. 30, the last day covered by the financial report, Responsible Growth Arkansas had not spent any money. But we know one expense item that will presumably show up on a future report. It is sponsoring next month’s Medical Marijuana & CBD Wellness Expo, presented by the Arkansas Times and the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association.
Another ballot question committee was formed in late 2017 with the goal of putting its Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment to a statewide vote in November. As of Dec. 15, Arkansas True Grass, which has described itself as a grassroots organization with a mailing address in Summit (Marion County), had received a bit over $14,000 and had less than $3,000 on hand.
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